Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

How Police Investigators View Credibility Of Victims Of Sexual Assault Crimes, Lakesha Richele Boone

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sexual assault is a sensitive topic, and research has become increasingly popular. Most literature focuses on stigma, attitudes, and perceptions that victims and law enforcement have about each other. Law enforcement officers are responsible for making charging decisions based on their investigations and ways by which they determine credibility and reliability of victims. It was unclear what criteria law enforcement officers use to ascertain relevant flaws in victim character and credibility. The purpose of this study was to explore how law enforcement officers evaluate credibility of sexual assault victims during investigations. The feminist legal, just world, and rape myth acceptance …

How Police Investigators View Credibility Of Victims Of Sexual Assault Crimes, Lakesha Richele Boone

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sexual assault is a sensitive topic, and research has become increasingly popular. Most literature focuses on stigma, attitudes, and perceptions that victims and law enforcement have about each other. Law enforcement officers are responsible for making charging decisions based on their investigations and ways by which they determine credibility and reliability of victims. It was unclear what criteria law enforcement officers use to ascertain relevant flaws in victim character and credibility. The purpose of this study was to explore how law enforcement officers evaluate credibility of sexual assault victims during investigations. The feminist legal, just world, and rape myth acceptance …

Motivators, Barriers, And Facilitators For Hispanic Females To Become Police Officers, Reynaldo Caban

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The loss of public trust in police institutions across the United States has increased and continues to grow as negative police interactions are broadcast on the news and social media outlets. Fueling the problem are police departments that are not representative of the communities they serve. Marginalized individuals are less likely to be heard by representatives of police departments, yet these individuals are needed to change negative perceptions. Hispanic females were selected for this study as part of those marginalized individuals. A generic qualitative approach was used to build this research with representative bureaucracy theory as the theoretical framework to …

Cultural Responsiveness In Policing, Stacy Berry Workman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over the last decade, headlines have highlighted police-citizen conflicts. With the continuing change in communities to an increasingly diverse population, communication and interactions between officers and citizens must progress towards fairness and transparency. The delivery of culturally competent public safety services facilitates more favorable client outcomes, more effective interpersonal communication, and increased service satisfaction from clients. Although this is heavily stressed in public safety agencies and can decrease the possibility of tort liability for failing to provide adequate services or appropriate treatment, the emphasis varies. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the policies and influences of law …

Perception Of Racial Minorities And Police Officers Involving Use Of Force, Linda L. Hester

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although police training, codes of ethics, and use of force policies are in place at police departments, the problem is there is a lack of standardization involving use of force by police officers, which is triggering community concerns between police officers and racial minorities. The present study built on the work of Riter by exploring perceptions and lived experiences of racial minorities involving police officers’ use of force based on fear, trust, and confidence. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore whether lived experiences of racial minority citizens differ from police officers regarding use of force in a …

Government, Citizen, And Social Media : Understanding Police-Citizen Interaction On Weibo In China, Yumeng Luo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation systematically examined the Beijing Police Department (BPD) daily use of social media and citizens’ comments it received. Previous studies in the field of e-government and political communication in the Chinese context focused only on the measurement of quantitative indicators of government use of social media or a single event. This dissertation incorporates theoretical frameworks of e-government, public relations, and the public sphere to provide a detailed picture of citizen and government interaction in the Chinese context. Using the BPD as my case study, I not only explored government’s daily activities and engagement strategies but also examined the nuances …

19th Century Exam, 21st Century Policing : An Examination Of The New York State Civil Service And Police Officer Recruitment:, Amani Edwards

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The civil service exam was created in the late 19th century to reform the hiringprocess for public officials, focusing on merit (skills and expertise) versus political patronage and other partisan factors. While much of the 20th century focused on redesigning the civil service organizations, exam redesign still remains an important next step that is infrequently considered. In the case of police departments, while other issues arise in recruitment efforts, the civil service exam has been noted by interviewees as the biggest barrier to redesign efforts in accordance with 21st Century Policing goals. Through in-depth interviews of current police chiefs and …

Single Mothers’ Perceptions Of Police Encounters And Effectiveness Related To Youth Gun Violence, Janay M. Gasparini

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Single mothers and their children residing in high-crime communities (HCCs) in the United States are disproportionately exposed to crime, and therefore, the criminal justice system. Specific challenges of single motherhood in HCCs compound the link between juvenile offending and single-female-headed households. Little is known, however, about how single mothers in HCCs perceive and use the police as a resource to help prevent juvenile offending, specifically gun violence. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of single mothers with police as they related to the arrest of their children for a gun crime. The research questions focused …

Higher Education And Police Officers: The Effects On Citizen Complaints, Evan D. Brown

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study was conducted to examine the effects that different levels of education may have on the number of citizen complaints filed against police officers. There are many literature articles pertaining to the education of police officers but few studies have been conducted to measure the specific effects of higher education in law enforcement. The analysis in this paper will show relationships between higher education of police officers and if it has a relationship with the number of officer complaints.

Relationship Between Job Embeddedness And Turnover Intentions Among Municipal Law Enforcement Officers, William Alonzo Forrester

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Law enforcement organizations have been facing a challenge with maintaining an adequate level of personnel due to an increased rate of employee turnover, which has been shown to have a negative impact on an agency's ability to reduce both property and violent crimes. The purpose of this cross-€sectional, quantitative study was to examine job embeddedness as a predictor of turnover intentions among municipal law enforcement officers by using the human capital theory as the theoretical foundation. To collect the data, a survey link was distributed to all personnel of a large, municipal law enforcement agency in the southeastern United States; …

Law Enforcement Seat Belt Use: Impact Of Policy And Phenomena On Use, Zach Loken

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Studies show that seat belt use by law enforcement officers is estimated to be at 50%, well below the national average. The purpose of this study was to explore what may be leading to reduced seat belt use by law enforcement patrol officers while also determining if different types of policies effect the level of seat belt usage by this population. The theoretical framework used in this study was Shafritz, Ott and Jang's theory of organizational culture and change. This quantitative study was conducted using a casual, quasi-experimental design; the research questions focused on understanding what phenomena may be occurring …

Use Of Force: Perception Of Racial Minorities And Police Officers In Southeastern United States, William Henry Riter, Jr.

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The amount of force used by law enforcement officers has become a highly-charged topic, especially among racial minority citizens and the law enforcement community. While the use of force by police officers is permitted by law enforcement agencies and expected by citizens, the amount and type of force used can trigger or cause problems, such as distrust or loss of confidence for the police agency, if the public perceives the force to be unjustified. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the use of force by police officers and how to improve the relationship between racial minority citizens …

Community Trust Building And The Elgin Police, Frank Trost

All Capstone Projects

This study focused on police and community trust and how it may be affected by one’s sense of community. The idea of sense of community has been compared to school spirit. There has been little research that examines if sense of community influences trust in their police. A quantitative study was conducted utilizing an online survey. The location was the city of Elgin, Illinois. Its purpose was to determine what level of sense of community the respondents had and what level of trust they had in the police overall and the Elgin police specifically. The study resulted in 637 respondents …

Police Stress: An Analysis Of The Impact On Child Sexual Exploitation Investigators, Damon Landon Simmons

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The psychological and physiological effects of work-related stress on law enforcement causes high morbidity and mortality rates and rates of alcoholism, substance abuse, domestic violence, and suicide higher than the national average. The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed-methods study was to examine whether work-related stress experienced by child sexual exploitation (CSE) and child sexual abuse (CSA) investigators differ from that of other duty assigned subgroups. I used Karasek's job demands-control model as the theoretical framework for this study. I conducted the study within a medium sized law enforcement agency in eastern Washington State. The sample in the quantitative study …

The Balance Between Privacy And Safety In Police Uav Use: The Power Of Threat And Its Effect On People’S Receptivity, Mari Sakiyama

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, are an innovative technology that has received significant interest from the law enforcement community. The size and ability, technological capability, and cost effectiveness of UAVs make them an attractive tool for law enforcement agencies to utilize in the course of operations, including domestic surveillance. Despite the potential benefits to the society, public perception of police UAV use is mixed, and “Not Over My Backyard (NOMBY)” attitudes relevant to Fourth Amendment privacy concerns are consistently demonstrated across studies related to public perceptions on this emerging technology.

The present study focuses on the relative …

Servant Leadership And Humility In Police Promotional Practices, Kevin C. Barker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The improper promotion of police officers who lack effective police management skills results in poor supervisor/employee relationships and could have a further negative effect on the relationships between officers and citizens. Yet, few police departments utilize leadership testing in making promotional decisions. The purpose of this quantitative, descriptive study was to explore whether servant leadership, from the perspective of police officers, is viewed as an effective leadership strategy. In particular, the focus of this study was on the element of humility as part of servant leadership theory. Data were collected by distributing the Servant Leadership Survey (SLS) to 2,794 police …

The Effect Of Rules On Racially-Influenced Policing And Police Uses Of Force, Joe D. Mazza

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Public opinion polls have shown the public lacks confidence in U.S. police to use appropriate amounts of force and treat racial minorities fairly, which undermines police legitimacy and the quality of life of all citizens. Although rules have been shown to positively constrain police uses of force, researchers have not demonstrated the effect of rules on racially influenced policing (RIP). In 2005, the RIP directive which prohibits officers from using race as a factor in taking discretionary actions was promulgated in New Jersey. The purpose of this study was to determine through the theoretical lens of Lipsky's street-level bureaucrat theory …

Effective Social Media Use By Law Enforcement Agencies: A Case Study Approach To Quantifying And Improving Efficacy And Developing Agency Best Practices, David T. Snively

Master of Public Administration Practicums

In the wake of protests against law enforcement for an array of reasons, law enforcement officers and agencies have a responsibility to recognize and utilize the available mediums of communication with which they may best develop a connection to the communities they serve. Furthermore, law enforcement agencies must be informed that established, traditional methods of news dissemination – such as press conferences and printed articles – are now both ineffective and under-utilized, replaced in large part by social media live-time reports. For that reason, law enforcement agency executives must address both the responsibility to provide appropriately timed updates to critical …

How The City Of Indianapolis Came To Have African American Policemen And Firemen 80 Years Before The Modern Civil Rights Movement., Leon E. Bates

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores a series of events that occurred in the spring of 1876. The relationship between the Indianapolis city government, the Marion County Courts, the Indianapolis Police Department, and the African American community came together to usher in changes never before envisioned. The Indianapolis Police Department (IPD) was formed in 1855, then disbanded 12 months later in a political dispute. From 1857-to-1876, the IPD was all white. These changes took place as the Reconstruction era was coming to a close. The first Ku Klux Klan was at its apex, terrorizing black communities, and Jim Crow was coming into its …

The Relationship Between Increased Police Patrols And Violent Crime Rates In Seven United States Cities, Victor Sylvester Kabia

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Large, metropolitan areas across the nation have experienced high rates of violent crime over the past 2 decades. As a consequence, law enforcement agencies have increased patrol efforts, but little is known about whether the decrease in violent crime rates was correlated to increased police patrols or to the economic variables of unemployment, inflation, level of education, unemployment compensation, and homeownership. The purpose of this non-experimental, correlational study was to examine the nature of the relationship between increased police patrols, the 5 economic variables, and violent crime rates in 7 large US cities for a 10-year period. The theoretical framework …

Exploring The Use Of Texting Within San Antonio Texas Police Emergency Reporting, Deborah Lee Almendarez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The introduction of wireless device text messaging, as an alternative to a citizen placing a telephone call for police help, generates the need for new polices and processes relevant to police call-taker, police dispatcher, and police officer response to reported emergencies. Little scholarly research explores the policy issues around the use of text 9-1-1 within public safety answering point operations. Using systems theory as the foundation, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the potential use of written communication via a wireless device text message for reporting a police emergency. Research questions focused on the reciprocal relationships …

Effect Of The Criminal Justice Curriculum On The Attitudes Of 12th-Grade Students Toward The Police, Willie Howard Bradley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While the use of criminal justice courses and law-related education programs have been shown to serve as a crime prevention and deterrence mechanism against school crime and violence, and help students to gain positive experiences and attitudes toward law enforcement, many high schools still do not offer criminal justice courses. The purpose of this quasiexperimental study was to compare the attitudes of 12th-grade students from a school district in Massachusetts who took a criminal justice course to 12th-grade students from another school district in Massachusetts who did not to determine if there is a statistically significant difference between the groups. …

Community Down: The Loss Of Sergeant Joe Bergeron, John Edward Helcl Ii

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

What local government officials, administrators, and staff can expect and how to can help in the aftermath of a peace officer’s line-of-duty death within their community.

A Test Of Direct And Partially Mediated Relationships Between Leader Member Exchange, Job Embeddedness, Turnover Intentions, And Job Search Behaviors In A Southern Police Department, Mark D. Bowman

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

Job embeddedness has been found to predict turnover intentions, job search behaviors and turnover, and job embeddedness researchers assert, but have not tested, that job embeddedness is a mediator of other organizationally significant factors relative to organizational outcomes. A relationship not previously explored is the role of a supervisor in job embeddedness, which was operationalized in this study as leader-member exchange. A single panel survey was conducted in a police department in the southern United States with 276 current members holding the rank of police officer. Usable surveys were completed by 128 of those police officers, which is a response …

An Analysis Of The West Point Leadership And Command Programs Impact Upon Law Enforcement Leadership, Joseph Aloysius Devine

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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